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Human rights situation of Palestinians still "dire", General Assembly told

7 November 2005


Despite some positive developments this year in the aftermath of the Sharm el Sheikh summit and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip, witness testimony pointed to a dire human rights situation in the Occupied Territories, said the Chairman of the Special Committee to Investigate Israeli Practices Affecting the Human Rights of the Palestinian People and Other Arabs of the Occupied Territories, as the General Assembly’s Fourth Committee met this morning to begin its consideration of the Special Committee’s report. After 37 years of denying access for the Special Committee to the Occupied Territories, Israel should revisit the reasons behind such a refusal. 

The Wall - an obstacle to educating Palestinian youth

Adri Nieuwhof and Jeff Handmaker 7 November 2005


The United Nations Human Rights Special Rapporteur for the Palestinian territories, John Dugard, wrote in a report in August this year, with respect to human rights in the Palestinian territories, that “the quality of education has deteriorated because schools have been obliged to shorten teaching hours as a result of wall gate-opening times. Furthermore, children are forced to drop out of school either to help supplement diminishing family incomes or because their parents can no longer afford to send them to school.” The wall blocks free access to schools on both sides of the wall. Traversing checkpoints on the way to school or university is a burden to both students and teachers. 

Al Jazeera cameraman beaten by soldiers

4 November 2005


Reporters Without Borders has voiced outrage at the use of violence by Israeli soldiers on Al Jazeera cameraman Nabil Al Mazzawi, near the West Bank city of Ramallah, on 4 November 2005, and called on the Israeli authorities to give an explanation. Mazzawi was filming a demonstration at the Israeli-built separation barrier when he was beaten by Israeli soldiers and subsequently detained for several hours. “A rapid and thorough investigation must be carried out to establish the circumstances of this excessive behaviour,” the press freedom organisation said. An Israeli police spokesman confirmed that the cameraman was detained for several hours and claimed that he had attacked a border guard. Al Jazeera broadcast footage showing that this was not true. 

Bill enabling prolonged incommunicado detention passed its first reading in the Knesset plenum

3 November 2005


The Israeli Ministry of Justice proposes a law that will allow non-residents of Israel who are suspected of having committed security offenses to be held almost completely incommunicado for fifty days. The bill, which is proposed as a temporary order that will remain in effect for one year, passed its first reading in the Knesset plenum on October 31. It will now be examined in Committee before returning to the plenum for the second and third readings necessary to enact into law. If enacted, the law will severely breach the fundamental rights of suspects in criminal proceedings, and increase the risk of maltreatment during interrogation. 

Solidarity in the Occupied Territories

2 November 2005


In the Palestinian village of Bil’in the construction by the Israeli army of the wall through the West Bank has disastrous consequences. It will cut the villagers off from two thirds of their land, the main source of their livelihood. For the past year the villagers have been holding peaceful demonstrations each week to protest against the wall. They have been joined by Israeli and international activists. The weekly Palestinian-Israeli demonstrations and other activities in Bil’in have come to symbolize non-violent protest and solidarity between the two communities. The Israeli army has responded with unwarranted force. Soldiers fire tear gas, stun grenades and rubber-coated metal bullets, and often beat and arrest demonstrators. 

Spain steps-up support for education in occupied Palestinian territory

27 October 2005


The Government of Spain has stepped-up its support to UNICEF education humanitarian action through contributing €1 million (US$ 1.2 million) for Palestinian children in the occupied Palestinian territory. The major issue of concern in education is to ensure full access to learning opportunities and to guarantee good-quality learning in a child-friendly environment. The quality of education is showing signs of decline and in the worst affected areas, the learning achievements for students are deteriorating. Few children have the opportunity to experience a child-friendly learning environment with safe spaces and opportunities for sports and recreation. 

Iran's blunders and counterblunders

Hasan Abu Nimah 2 November 2005


President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran committed a diplomatic blunder when he told a student gathering in Tehran that “Israel must be wiped off the map.” Iranian authorities themselves realised the extent of the miscalculation and decided to back off. But says EI contributor Hasan Abu Nimah, we cannot simply condemn Iran while ignoring the context in which Iran itself is under constant military threat from its neighbors and the United States. The episode demonstrates once again that double standards, not international law, continue to dictate the agenda of the “international community.” 

"If You Will It, It is No Dream": Embracing the Anti-Apartheid Struggle in Israel/Palestine

Virginia Tilley 1 November 2005


Debate and reportage from Israel-Palestine continue anxiously to focus on the symptoms, rather than the deeper direction, of the conflict. Media controversy whirls about how the Palestinians can navigate the immense challenges of the Gaza withdrawal, the electoral challenge from Hamas, and whether the PA can contain wildcat militancy. It even still whirls about whether the Sharon government intends to withdraw West Bank settlements or build them up-an impressively naive concern. But these controversies distract us from an underlying reality far more earth-shaking. 

3rd Annual New York Arab-American Comedy Festival kicks off this month!

1 November 2005


Organizers behind the groundbreaking New York Arab American Comedy Festival (NYAACF) recently announced plans for the 3rd Annual Festival, which will take place from November 13th–17th , 2005. More than ever, this year’s event promises to provide entertainment that is funny, uniquely original and   politically insightful.  No topic is off-limits as the theater pieces comedically tackle such topics as Palestine, intercultural fear of Arab terrorists, how to be a “real Arab,” and a comedic musical about religious fundamentalism and President Bush. 

Land confiscations and exploitation natural resources main causes of crisis in OPT

27 October 2005


Israel’s continued confiscation of lands, destruction of homes, and exploitation of natural resources had remained the leading causes of the socio-economic crisis in the occupied Palestinian territories, a senior United Nations official told the Second Committee today, as it discussed permanent sovereignty of occupied Arab peoples over their natural resources. Introducing the report on that subject, Mervat Tallawy, Executive Secretary of the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA), stressed that agricultural losses in the occupied territories, especially the uprooting of more than a million olive trees, the demolition of homes and restrictions on the movement of goods and persons had deepened unemployment and poverty.